


A Soft Laugh then Silence

by CVdaring



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Nightmares, Pre-Reveal Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Worried Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:16:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23634466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CVdaring/pseuds/CVdaring
Summary: Troubled with nightmares from the last attack, Chat Noir finds refuge in his klutzy classmate.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 9
Kudos: 65





	1. Almost

Chat Noir quite often found himself sleeping on Marinette's balcony, unbeknownst to her. It was like a second home, a better one. A regular one. Marinette's mother and father actually spared her the time of day, and that warmed his little kitty heart... He never really let Marinette in on that either. 

Adrien would have a disagreement with his father, or even natalie, and he would leap across the Paris skyline to unleash some of that well deserved teenage angst. It didnt matter if he got any sleep or not, he always would manage when an akuma would strike at the dead of night. Somehow he always landed in the same place, the laid back lawn chair atop of his princess's balcony. It always smelled like vanilla, the fumes from the bakery wafting up from below. That scent, mixed with the tranquility of the open air, would rock the chat right to sleep. 

She never caught him up there, he would always wake up before any alarm in the city could blare so he could return home in time. He was afraid if his princess saw him up there, if she knew, he would feel like a total creep. He would never be able to face her again, as Chat Noir OR Adrien Agreste. 

There was one night though, but he didn't go prowling Paris's night sky because of a spat at home. It was that blasted akuma.   
Chat Noir had had it up to here with the innately plant based akuma. First it was Rose, then Marinette's dad (that was a wild ride), and... well. Three's a crowd. 

The akuma that blessed his presence earlier that day was vicious. She was miraculously formed into coils of ivy, whips of them protunding out of her back like tendrils. The long stems of the ivy had deep red thorns, and with each crack of them, a person would develop green veins travelling up their body. People had died. Even though Adrien knew that with a toss of the lucky charm they would be back, it didn't make it any less unnerving. Any less traumatizing. 

Especially when a whip cracked against his Ladybug while he wasn't looking. 

She let out a cry of pain and she collapsed to the ground. Ladybug couldn't move, the poison ate at every tissue in her body. It was getting hard to see, hard to think. 

Chat inhaled sharply, letting out a wild burst of anger as he threw the akumatized victim across the park. _My Lady.... oh no no no, my lady._ It was all he could think. Without hesitation he dashed over, lifting her up into his arms. 

Ladybug didn't protest. She could barely process what had happened, her head had hit the ground so quickly. Next thing she knew she was flying threw the air in her partner's arms, sailing across the buildings. As soon as they came to a stop, she built up enough energy to muster out a word or two. 

"Chat...?" 

The Cat set her against a wall on a rooftop, eyes all pupil. "My lady... hang in there, okay? I'll fix this, you're going to be okay." 

Ladybug blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to clear her vision... but even through the fog she could tell her kitty had tears in his eyes. She heard her own heart break, but it wasn't the time to dwell on it now. The spotted hero reached up for her earrings. "You- you need..."

Chat nodded. There was an unspoken agreement, this wasn't the time to mourn. After all, she was going to be okay. She had to be. He put a hand on hers, gently pushing it down. "I've got it, my lady." 

With that Chat Noir closed his eyes and carefully took out the earrings of his partner. There was a flash of pink beyond his eyelids, but he didn't let his curiosity take over this time. He began to put the earrings in his own ears. 

"Chat... no, what are you doing?" Marinette coughed, a tad more panicked. As panicked as she could manage to sound. "Two miraculouses... its dangerous..." 

"Aww, is my lady worried about me?" He tried so desperately to seem unshaken, to lighten the mood as she was practically slipping from his grasp. 

She let out a breathy laugh, but nothing more. There was silence. 

Chat didn't dare say another word, petrified to only be met with more nothing. He stood to his feet, letting himself walk away from her. 

"This is really dangerous, Chat Noir..." he heard ladybug's kwami chime. He opened his eyes, looking out over the park the akuma was still lurking in. The little red god floated by his head, staring along with him. "The creation and destruction miraculous.... you'll go crazy if you have them both on too long." 

Chat Noir already felt the fatigue wash over him as the second earring was set into place. It was like suddenly the weight of the world was on his shoulders, quite literally. "I can do this. I don't have time to detransform from Plagg.... so.... tikki, spots on." 

With that flash of red, a new mixture of superhero leaped from the building and begun barreling towards his opponent. He wanted to act rash, he wanted to destroy this monster, risk everything he had to do it for hurting his Lady. The other part of his brain pushed that aside, as if a piece of ladybug came with her miraculous and infiltrated his mind. 

Thankfully, it didn't take long to devilize the akuma. Chat Noir didn't waste any time. The moment he threw up his lucky charm, shouting that classic miraculous ladybug, his knees buckled. He sat hunched over on the ground, the toll of the two most powerful miraculous weighing in him. 

"Tikki, spots off." Chat huffed, removing the earrings and placing them into her little nubby hands. 

Tikki nodded, giving him a worried glance as she flew up to return to her chosen. It blew her away, she was nearly positive he would have cracked-- not that she didn't believe in the Charming Chat Noir. Two normal miraculouses, that was one thing. Marinette could handle that, and she has, but the two most powerful ones... it was a miracle, no pun intended (save those for Chat). 

Chat wobbled to his feet and proceeded to check on the victim, that's what Ladybug would do first. As soon as he got the all clear that she was okay, his jittery feet took him back up that building. He planned on landing gracefully, like he always did, like all cats do, but his foot caught on the ledge and the kitty somersaulted across the rooftop. His limbs felt like lead. 

"Chat?!" Ladybug exclaimed. She had transformed back as soon as Tikki returned to her, knowing damn well Chat Noir would have followed soon after. She ran up to him as he lugged himself off the ground. "What happened?! Did you get the akuma?" 

Chat Noir gave a tired nod, his eyes glowing at the sight of her safe and sound. _Oh thank god. Shes okay. Shes okay_. He clicked his baton and propped himself up against it, giving his lady a sly but pained grin. "Of course I did, Bugaboo! What, you don't have any faith in _moi~_?" 

"You look like hell..." She glanced him up and down as her eyebrows furrowed. "What did you do, kitty?" 

She didn't remember.

"Well you were out of commission, My Lady! So I borrowed Tikki for a little bit--" The Cat was interrupted by a beep sounding from his ring. "Sorry, Bugaboo, I've gotta cut this a debrief a little short. Pound it?" He held out the fist to her. 

Ladybug's eyes studied him for a moment, scared to ask any further questions. She caved, giving him a fist bump. "Do you... need help? Chat, you look like you can barely stand." 

Chat put his pole in front of him, resting his chin on the top and leaning towards her. "You're so cute when you're worried about me." There went another beep. He straighted himself, cringing at the hint of pain it left behind. "I'll see you soon, my lady!" 

And he was off. 

Chat Noir didn't see any reason to worry her. He didn't want to admit to risking his sanity just to bring her back, and he knew Tikki would probably tell her that anyway. He could argue it was for the good of Paris, that akuma couldn't have been left to rome. The whole city would die. It wasn't true though, he didn't do it for Paris. There was only one goal in his mind. Ladybug couldn't die. He couldn't do this without her. 

His body felt like it had been hit with a moving train, but that was really all the side effects he got. He could sleep it off... that is, if he could get to sleep. 

She had been so close to being gone for good. Maybe if he had paid more attention to her, maybe if he had shoved her out of the way. She didn't remember it, thank god, but he did. He remembered her cry, carrying her off, a green vein creeping onto her flawless face... Chat Noir never looked, but he knew he had lost her, even for a moment. That kept playing in his mind. The soft laugh, then silence. Just a soft laugh and silence, over and over again, pounding at his chest and clawing into his skull. 

And that's why he was on Marinette's balcony this time.


	2. A Restless Minou

At home, Adrien couldn't get to sleep. He tried, he tried for hours. Plagg even gave it go, singing him some stupid lullaby about cheese in that tone deaf voice. He got a smirk out of his chosen, but nothing more. 

So that's when he thought to return to one of the only other places he could get a peaceful rest. As he approached, the roses planted on the railing made him flinch at the thought, but he still rested his head. The scent of vanilla rocked the little kitty to sleep. The dreams though... they got dark. It replayed the day over and over again, more intensely every time. Soft laugh then silence, soft laugh then silence, soft laugh then silence. The pain of his wrenching heart pounded at his chest. Voices in that dreamscape kept repeating it over and over again.

_She could have died_.

_What if you can't save her next time?_

_SHE COULD HAVE DIED._

"Chat Noir?!" 

Chat bolted upright, gasping for air. He shook the terrors from his head, finally looking to the left to see his Princess's head popping up from her trapdoor. Oh no... 

"P-Princess! Good morning! I-I mean..." His emerald eyes panned up to the starry night sky. "Good.... Night?" 

"Chat..." To the Cat's surprise, Marinette didn't look creeped out. She didn't even look mad. Her face was cursed with worry as she heaved herself up onto the balcony. "I heard you... were you having a nightmare, Kitty?" 

Chat gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his neck in an extremely Adrien fashion. "What did you hear exactly?" 

Marinette walked around the chair and took a seat on the ledge, watching her partner's every move. This wasn't like Chat. Sleeping on her balcony is one thing she could expect. Even though Ladybug didn't know much about his home life, she knew enough to understand why he wouldn't be there. It was different this time. Tikki had nudged her awake, saying she heard what sounded like mumbles coming from the terrace. She opened the trapdoor just in time to see Chat Noir tossing and turning, whispering to himself in a deep sleep. 

"You were mentioning Ladybug." She finally said. _You were talking about me_. 

Chat Noir gulped, his mind flashed back to his own dream. Before getting too lost in it, he shook his head again. "I'm alright! Nothing Paris's second favorite superhero can't handle, right?" He couldn't exactly convince himself, but at least he could try to convince his classmate. Silence swept over them as he caught Marinette studying his face in the same way Ladybug had. "Sorry for dropping in unannounced, Princess. This must be a little weird." He could have said _un-meow-nced,_ but Chat didn't have the heart.

Marinette chuckled and gave a heavy yawn. "To find a superhero taking a cat nap on your balcony? I'll say. Why are you here, Chat?" 

Adrien's face flushed. Maybe she was a little creeped out, maybe she didn't show it. He fiddled with his fingers for a moment. "Couldn't sleep." 

"I caught the tail-end of the battle today, you looked exhausted!" It wasnt a complete lie. "What's keeping you up?" 

In a moment of weakness, Chat sighed, looking down at his twiddling thumbs. "I couldn't protect her." 

"What?"

"Ladybug, I couldn't protect Ladybug." Chat's ears laid back. He didn't know why he was confiding in this civilian, in his friend and classmate. If he was his other half he knew she'd be a timid mess around him... it was always nice to hear complete sentences come out of her mouth while he was Chat. Marinette was kind to him. Adrien knew she was nice, of course he did, but it was different in his kitty form. They could be themselves like this. "Did you see what that akuma did? To her, to all the civilians?" 

Marinette grew uncomfortable with how vulnerable Chat was getting. His confidence never faltered when she was Ladybug, but right now he was raw. She really spooked him. "The vines, you mean? They were knocking people unconscious, right?" 

"They were killing people." Chat's voice broke for a moment. "The Miraculous brought them back, no one remembers it. I do, though. Ladybug got hit, I should have ran in front of her. I had to carry her off." 

Tikki had told Marinette vaguely what happened. She told her enough to ease her worries about Chat. _**He was just tired from using two miraculous, he'll be fine** ,_ the kwami's voice rang in her head. Maybe he was fine physically, but... 

"I didn't look, closed my eyes when she turned back into her other half. But she was silent after a moment and I- I-...." Chat couldn't go on. The moment flashed in his head again. 

_Oh_. She might have died. Tikki didn't want to pile that onto her. "But Ladybug is okay now, right? It's like nothing happened!"

Chat nodded, but he knew Marinette didn't quite understand what it had done to him. How could she? She didn't nearly have the love of her life ripped away from her. He rose from the deck chair, dusting off his suit. Nothing happened for everyone else, but it happened to him. It was hard, but the leather clad hero could pretend he was 100% okay, just for a moment. He whipped around to her, giving a wicked smile. "Listen to me, worried over nothing. Sorry to wake you up, Purr-incess. I'd better take my leave so your highness can get her beauty sleep." He gently swiped her hand, planting a kiss on her knuckles. "Not like she needs it." 

Marinette rolled her eyes, half because of the flirt and the other half because she didn't entirely believe him. She stood up, pausing as her partner began to turn and leave. With one swift motion, her instinct took over and she threw her arms around him, hugging him from behind. "Chat, you know you can come here whenever, okay?" 

The Cat flinched when he felt her touch, and a soft, melancholy smile melted onto his face. Marinette really was such a kind girl. He gave his classmate a friendly pat on her arm. "Thanks, princess." And then finally he leaped from the balcony, a black blur disappearing into the night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally wrote this at like 5am I hope it's a good second edition!! I'm working on chapter 3 right now, it's not over yet!


	3. Sleepy

Marinette didn’t get much sleep after that. Questions scrolled through her head.  _ Is Chat really okay? Should I have tried harder to help him? Was he going to get over this? _ Tikki tried her best to ease her, but the questions kept coming. 

Adrien didn’t sleep at all. When Marinette had woken him up before, it might have been around 3AM, and he couldn’t let himself get anymore sleep. When Natalie came in to wake him, he was already up and at ‘em, a walking zombie fully dressed for school. He got there early, the first one to arrive in fact. He walked into the hollow locker rooms, letting out a relieved sigh. 

“Have you ever gotten here this early?” Plagg whined, flying out from Adrien’s bag. 

Adrien shook his head and yawned, the yearning of a cat nap washed over him. If there was a viable place to lay down, even for a moment, he would… but the school was about to fill up. He didn’t have the time. 

“You shoulda stayed home, kid…” His little black kwami sighed, watching Adrien shove his things into his locker with a helpless toss. “You’re going to pass out in class.” 

“Hush, Plagg.” Adrien grumbled, tossing a nice slice of camembert his way. The kwami immediately shut his trap, eating the cheese whole. It had always been easy to distract the hungry god. 

Marinette dashed up to the school, running late as usual. Alya waited for her outside the entrance, accompanied by her DJ boyfriend. 

“Hey Alya, hey Nino!” Marinette called to them as she approached. She paused, cocking a curious head. Usually there would that blond boy beside Nino… Where was he? “Where’s Adrien?” 

“Apparently already inside.” Nino shrugged, flashing her a dopey smile. “He texted me he got here early so we wouldn’t wait up for him.” 

“Huh.” 

“Forget him for a second! Girl, did you  _ SEE _ the akuma yesterday!?” Alya jumped on her toes, whipping out her phone and pulling up the Nadja Chamack media coverage of the battle. “Ladybug got hit and she disappeared!”

Marinette watched the video on her friend's phone, intensely staring as she watched herself, as Ladybug of course, crumble to the ground and her black cat partner rushing up to her. Her stomach turned, Chat looked so worried. 

“And THEN.” Alya exclaimed, fast forwarding a couple minutes into the broadcast. “Chat Noir popped back out, but… different!” 

The screen showed Chat leaping back into the park, his suit now lined with red, and mask half black, half ladybug. The cat swung his yo-yo at the akuma, laying down stagerized and calculated attacks. He didn’t usually act like this. Marinette expected her partner to lash out, to just start exploding… but he didn’t. He acted like his ladybug. 

“He looks like he… adopted some of Ladybugs powers? It’s crazy! I HAVE to research this for the Ladyblog!” The blogger squealed, holding her phone to her chest. 

Marinette let out an unsteady breath and chewed on her lip. She wanted to tell her best friend to stay out of it, Chat didn’t need that kind of attention right now… But that’s when the bell rang. They all went inside. 

Nino rushed over to his seat, looking skeptically at the model beside him. Adrien’s head laid in his arms, eyes shut. The bags under his eyes clearly displayed how he was feeling, so Nino didn’t need to ask…

He did anyway. 

“Adrien! Wakey wakey!” He said, giving his friend a nudge. Adrien’s head shot up suddenly, to which Nino held up his hands in defense. “Damn, chill out, dude. What’s going on?”

“Long night.” Adrien tried to wave it off with one of those classic smiles he would flash for a picture, but he quickly got distracted as Marinette zipped passed him to her seat. She didn’t look as bad as he did… Good. He was glad he didn’t cause her too much worry. Besides, Marinette did always seem a little tired. It wasn’t different from any other day. 

“You look like hell.” Alya spoke up, leaning over her desk to get a better look at him. 

“Alya! Youcan’tjustsaythat!” Marinette said quickly, pushing her friend. 

Adrien sat up straight, looking back at the two with kind eyes. “It’s okay, Marinette, I’ve been told. I’m okay, guys, just a little tired.”

Marinette shriveled in her seat at him saying her name and instantly her mind wandered. He’d been told. That’s funny, she told Chat the same thing. She shook her head, dispelling the possibility. There was no way.  _ You look like hell _ was a common enough phrase.

“Whatever you say.” Nino said, returning his attention to Mrs. Bustier as she walked her way to the front of the class. 

When the bell rang for lunch, there was a scream. Of course there was a scream. Did Hawkmoth have anything better to do than terrorize the citizens of Paris? Didn’t he have a family or a job or something?

Student’s rushed out of Mrs. Bustier’s classroom, paying no attention to her repeatedly saying  _ Stay calm, single file line! _

Adrien accidentally let out an annoyed groan as he rose from his seat. He didn’t mean to, he just wanted a goddamn break. He knew he was going to have to slip somewhere private and transform. He would have to go against another akuma half asleep. He would have to try and run before Ladybug would ask him how he’s doing… But what a pleasure it would be seeing her again, huh? There’s the motivation. He dashed out behind his fellow classmates and slunk into the men’s room. 

Plagg flew out of his backpack, trying hard not to give his chosen a concerned look. He had an ingenuine reputation to hold up! “You know, you cooould just let Ladybug take this one. She can handle it.” 

Adrien yawned and gave his head a loose shake. “Plagg, claws out.”

Ladybug was already there when he arrived, basking in the sight of an akume seven times their size. Ah yes, baby August. It shouldn’t be that hard, they had dealt with this little kid before. She stood on a rail of the Eiffel tower, and when her black cat landed beside her, she panicked as he almost wobbled backward. Ladybug caught his wrist, pulling him back to his feet. 

“Chat, are you okay?!” She asked, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder. Gigantitan was harmless for the most part, he could wait a couple seconds. 

“I’m  _ purr _ -fect, My Lady.” Chat slurred, giving her a sly but sleepy grin. Thank god the mask concealed the bags under his eyes. “What, a cat can’t be perfectly balanced all the time. We have flaws too!”

Ladybug rolled her eyes, removing her hand. She knew everything wasn’t  _ purr-fect _ , but now wasn’t the time to talk about it. “Alright, Cat. Let’s get to work, I need to talk to you after this, okay?”

_ Oh great. _ As his lady leaped towards Gigantitan, he let out sigh. The last thing he wanted was to be reprimanded for the hasty use of both their miraculouses, but he couldn’t avoid her. 

Ladybug handed August to his mother, who was apologizing once again. Chat stood behind his lady, leading on his pole and watched as she approached him. 

“You know, no one is better than you at Ladybug.” He gave her a soft, admiring gaze. “As if I thought I could live up to it yesterday.”

Ladybug scoffed, giving those bluebell eyes another roll. Then her humorous look morphed into seriousness. “That was really dangerous, Chat. Any longer and you could have lost your mind.”

“Yeah, yeah I know.” Chat muttered, the adoration draining from his eyes. Tikki had told him that already, Plagg even stepped up to the plate at some point to wag a finger (or nub) at him. He had heard it enough. “There wasn’t time, my Ladybug. I’d do it again.”

“It takes like two seconds to detransform and transform again, Kitty…” She frowned at him, and her heart hurt once again. 

“Well clearly I wasn’t thinking about that.” 

There was a brief moment of silence where the heroine didn’t know what to say. She knew what he was thinking about, and to a point she understood. When Volpina was first up to her nasty tricks, she had threatened Adrien’s life and Ladybug nearly gave up her miraculous then and there. She would have done anything to keep him safe. Thank god that was an illusion. 

The corners of her lips curled, giving Chat Noir a knowing look. “From what I saw, I think you handled your second time as Ladybug really well, Chat!”

The hero grinned, his eyes beaming at such a compliment from the lady herself. “You saw that?” 

“It was on the news, Kitty, of course I did.” Ladybug gave him a friendly hit on his shoulder. “It was a lot better than last time, Mister Bug.” 

Chat chuckled. He knew she was just padding on the compliments to ease his mind… and honestly? It was working. He was about to reply with some snarky retort before his ring beeped in unison with her earrings. He yawned. “I’ll see you tonight for purr-trol, my lady.”

“Why don’t you take the night off, Chat?” She said, a hand reaching up to her ears. She didn’t have much time left. 

He lifted an eyebrow, studying her face and she studied his whole body language. It was obvious he was exhausted, he knew it. “Are you sure, LB?”

“Hawkmoth won’t attack twice in a day, get some sleep.”

The cat nodded, despite how uneasy it made him feel. With his sour luck, Hawkmoth might, but he couldn’t disobey her. “As you wish, my lady.” And he bowed to her, ready to pounce off. 

“Oh and Chat Noir?”

“Hm?” He raised his head, looking up at her from that bowing position. She rarely called his his full title.

“Thank you for yesterday.” 

And with a flick of her yo-yo, she swung away.


	4. Another Restless Minou

Marinette had a feeling she would have a stray cat visit her balcony once again that night, despite telling him to take it off for patrol. He should have been sleeping, god knows he needed it. She knew her Chat Noir, though. He wasn't great at self care.   
She waited out on her terrace with her trusty red goddess floating beside her, looking out over the Paris night sky. Her single person patrol was over an hour ago, but she still felt like she needed to wait... just in case.   
"Maybe he already went to sleep, Marinette..." Tikki yawned. She was already so tired, but she didn't want to leave her chosen to wait alone.   
Marinette smiled at her, holding out her hands as a landing pad. "Come here, Tikki, why don't you go ahead and sleep. I'll be there soon if he doesn't come."   
Tikki sat on Marinette's palms, considering it for a moment, but then gave an insistent shake of her little head. "No, it's okay! I can wait with you... Chat seemed okay at the battle today, though. Just tired. Maybe he already got over it!"   
Marinette scoffed. "If I know anything about Chat, he doesn't let things go easy... I just hope he's okay." She walked over to her planted roses hanging off the railing and set her kwami down in the soil. She nearly blended right in. "You might be right, though, Tikki. He might not even come to me... Marinette me at least. I don't even have a clue why he came last night."   
Tikki avoided Marinettes eyes. She had some sort of idea why, after all... she knew who he was. It didn't exactly surprise her that Chat Noir would confide in the home of one of his first and best friends, even if he didn't know who she really was. In the fleating moments Plagg and Tikki shared in secret between their Chosen's classes, Plagg would complain about all of Adrien's commitments, about the absurd rules and restrictions his father forced upon him. So of course he would find solace in Marinette Dupain-Cheng.   
"Why are you making that face?" Marinette asked her kwami, who didn't even realize she was making a face at all.   
To Tikki's relief, there was the sound of steel toes shoes gracefully hitting the floorboards.  
"Who are you talking to, Purr-incess?"   
Marinette jumped, whirling around to see her leather clad partner staring at her with a curious face. She gave him a nervous laugh. "No one! Myself! Who else would I be talking to?"   
When Chat had just arrived, Marinette would have seen a series of emotions scroll across his face. First it was forlorn, then surprised ( _She's awake? What is she doing awake at this hour?!_ ), and finally adoration. But that all faded when a curious grin crawled onto the Cat's face. "Yourself, huh?" He slunk closer to her and tried to peak around her shoulder to see what she had been looking at in her little rose garden. He couldn't see anything she would have been talking to, except... maybe the roses? Probably not. He straightened himself back up. "Well if you say so, Princess. Hey, why's Miss Marinette up so late anyway? Isn't it way passed your bedtime?"  
Marinette let out a breath she didnt know she was holding as Chat finally moved to a different topic. She smiled playfully at him. "I'm not a child, Chat Noir."   
Chat chuckled, giving a knowing nod. In a flash, his face changed. It wasn't hard to tell he somehow was reminded why he came there in the first place. The Cat rested his arms on the railing, looking down at the streets.   
Marinette frowned at him. She didn't know if it would be weird to say what she was gonna say next, but she thought he needed it. "... I was waiting for you."   
The black cat looked at her quickly, confused. "What?"   
"I mean, you looked really distraught last night. I thought on the off-chance you came back to take another nap on my terrace... I might as well be here." She leaned against the railing with him. "In case you need me."   
Chat Noir couldn't believe his ears. Marinette was... unbelievable. She hadn't even known for sure he was going to come, and yet she stayed. She waited for him. She _wanted_ to be there for this stray, distressed cat that really had no business being there in the first place. Adrien knew she was kind, he knew how much she cared for everyone but... even a stranger in some leather mask? Forget the superhero part, he wasn't doing anything super up on that balcony. He was just a lost kitten and she... cared. A lot more than he thought she would. It was weird, his vision seemed to see her in a whole new light. A brighter light, and it wasn't the night vision.   
_On the off-chance? God, I'm here almost every other night...._ He couldn't say that.   
Chat Noir gave a breathy laugh, shaking his head. He felt tears swell up in his eyes, but he wasn't even sure why. "You're amazing, Mari. You know that?"   
"What do you mean?" She asked innocently.   
"So unbelievably selfless. You waited up here for _me_? God, you don't even know me."   
_Yes I do, Chaton..._  
"I know enough, kitty. Are you still worried about Ladybug?" It was always so weird to talk about herself in the third person, she would never get used to it.   
For a moment the air around them tensed and it didn't seem like Chat was going to let Marinette be his therapist this time. But he couldn't help himself. He trusted her enough, she wouldn't be out there that night if she didn't genuinely want to listen. "I wouldn't say I'm worried about her. I know she can handle herself, she's incredible... I'm worried about the moments like yesterday. The few times where her luck runs bad and I can't... save her."   
Marinette looked at him, the voice in her head practically screaming at chat. "You save her all the time, don't you? You're always there for her, Chat Noir. Just yesterday you literally brought her back to life." Thank god Chat had told her that last night, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to get that from the news.   
"I know. I know, it just hurts everytime." He hung his head down in despair. The Cat let silence wash over them as Marinette tried to find comforting words. It was too quiet though, especially for his restless mind. "... do you have anyone you love, Marinette?"   
Marinette choked on air, startled by such a personal question.   
"You don't have to answer that."  
She cleared her throat, trying to readjust herself uncomfortably. "I.... I do." It was hard to tell who immediately popped into her head first... they both had blonde hair and those bright green eyes. She surprised herself that there were even two in the first place.   
"You'd do anything to protect them, right? Stupid things, without even a second thought?"   
Her mind flashed to Volpina and Adrien at the Effiel Tower. "I guess I would."   
Chat sighed. "That's how I feel."   
_Paris is first priority, Chat..._ , she wanted to tell him. It was hypocritical, she almost put all of _Paris_ in danger because of that dumb model dangling. But Chat was there, he knew. It was an illusion. She always wondered how he was so damn sure.   
Marinette was looking down at her feet at this point, again trying to find something to say. He was right, but she knew what the _morally_ right thing was.   
Chat glanced over to her, a slight panic ringing in his head as he watched her face grow distraught. Maybe it would be better for this conversation to be over. He slapped on a cheeky grin, elbowing her arm. "So.... you like a guy, huh?"   
Marinette's head shot up at him as her face grew red. Again, those two faces flashed in her head.... damn did they look similar. She took a beat to compose herself. This was Chat Noir, she didn't have to act so goddamn nervous around him. "That is none of your business, huh, kitty."   
"Oh come ooon..." Chaton whined. He turned himself around against the railing, leaning back. "What, are you a-fur-aid I know him, princess? Don't worry, this stray won't get too jealous."   
"Oh stop it, Chat." She lightly hit his arm without looking, but when she glanced over, he was looking at her with new eyes. Eyes he had only given Ladybug. This soft, adoring gleam shined in them.   
Adrien didn't understand why suddenly he felt so mushy around her. His whole brain was whispering _say me, say me_ , and he was trying desperately to shut it up. She's just a friend, right?  
Marinette opened her mouth to tease her charming hero, when there was a whistling sound. It grew louder and louder as the two looked around to find the source.   
There was a massive CD flying their way, about the width of Marinette's house. _Another one?!_   
Without a second thought, or even a first for that matter, Chat Noir slid in front of Marinette, holding his baton out in front of him perpendicular to the oncoming flying saucer. The force of the CD pushed him backwards into Marinette and they fell back onto the floor, allowing the disc to lodge itself into the designer's roof.   
Chat Noir casted himself over his princess, glaring out into the night sky for the akuma. There was a tall woman hovering on top of a CD in the distance. She was casting out more discs in different directions, musing aloud about _if she can't be a songwriter with her own songs, then she just use the people of paris to make new ones_. There weren't many people on the street, but every time a CD would sink into a building it would glow purple, strangers faces appearing on the surface.   
"Gigantitan must've not worn Hawkmoth out enough..." Chat sighed, looking back at the disc in Marinette's building. No faces showed yet, the akuma must need to lodge it into the room with the people...   
"Oh, it looks like I missed..." the Akuma frowned, looking over at the bakery. "Pity. But I might have found something better~! A miraculous. Stay still, you mangy cat."   
Marinette could barely believe it when Chat Noir didn't even give a snarky retort back.   
Another CD was shot towards them from a brace on the akuma's wrist, faster this time.   
Chat rolled to face Marinette, grabbed her around her waist, and kept rolling until the CD shot passed them, hitting the building again. He shot up to his feet, refusing to release his princess, and leaped off the balcony.   
"Chat..." Marinette squeaked, face pressed against his chest as he soared through the air.   
"I won't let her get you." He replied with gritted teeth. _Not you_.  
"Okay, agreed, but you need to set me down somewhere! I'm slowing you down."   
Every part of Adrien couldn't bare to set Marinette down, to leave her alone. He so desperately wanted to keep her with him until Ladybug came to the rescue like she always did... but Marinette was right.   
They landed on the streets, where Chat grabbed her hand and rushed her into an alleyway. He took a breath with his hands on his knees. It was getting harder and harder to stay awake anymore, he'd been up for so long.   
"You can do this, Kitty." She said confidently, her eyes scanning the exhaustion on her partner's face. "Ladybug will be here soon."  
" _HERE, KITTY KITTY KITTY_......" the akuma boomed from around the corner.   
He nodded, rushing back into the streets only to be met with another CD flying his way. He leaned back enough to dodge it, and finally sunk his teeth into the battle. 

Ladybug showed up soon after, just like Marinette said she would. The battle didnt last long after that, it never would. Ladybug threw up her yo-yo all the civilians were returned to their respectful homes, no damage done.   
Chat Noir fell back onto the ground, his body feeling like lead. He couldn't keep doing this... he felt awful.   
"Chaton?" Ladybug kneeled beside him, eyes wide. "Are you okay?"   
He nodded, but it felt like a lie. He shook his head. "I haven't gotten a lot of sleep..."   
"I can tell, kitty..." she laid a soft hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you head home? Please get some sleep, I can't have a walking zombie as my partner, you know. I'm sure Marinette won't--"   
Chat's droopy eyes popped open, the designer sinking back into his mind. "Marinette! Is she okay? Did you see her? I have to--"   
"Chat. She's perfectly fine. I'll take care of her." Ladybug found herself smiling. Its funny, she knew he naturally worried about all civilians... but it felt warm to see him so worried about her. About her other half. "Go home, Chaton."   
Chat didn't answer for a moment, trying to find some good reason to go and see Marinette again... to no avail. He could trust Ladybug with her. He nodded, slowly but surely rising to his feet along with his bug. "Okay... okay. You're right. I'll try, my lady. Tell her I said good night for me?"   
Ladybug grinned and reached up to rustle the hair on his head. "Sure thing, Chat. I'll see you for patrol tomorrow, better rest up."   
He gave a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know I wasn't suppose to patrol tonight..."   
"Don't worry, kitty. I get it." She began bouncing off towards the alley Chat had left her in. "Good night, Chat Noir."   
"Good night, my lady." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am bad at fight scenes I'm sorry I skip them

**Author's Note:**

> I have never written a fanfic before so please be nice to me //


End file.
